Following a sparkling debut against the Oklahoma City Thunder earlier in the month, Seth Curry has failed to appear in any of the Golden State Warriors last four games despite their continually inconsistent form.
Steve Kerr's decision to move the younger Curry out of the rotation may not be as controversial as others in recent games, but it does beg the question of whether the Warriors made the right decision to sign the veteran sharpshooter when they did?
Warriors facing instant regret over Seth Curry signing
There was always an understanding after he was waived following preseason that Curry would return to the roster when Golden State were eligible to do so. They waited a couple of weeks until the start of the month, then signed the 35-year-old to a rest of season contract that brought their main roster to the allotted 15 players.
Based on Curry's lack of playing time since his debut, it's fair to say the Warriors could have waited longer to bring him back into the fold. For every day they waited, they could have opened up ever so slightly more cap flexibility that could subsequently make a difference if they need to sign additional players after a potential 3-for-1 or 4-for-2 consolation trade prior to the February mid-season deadline.
Perhaps more importantly, it would have given more time to evaluate whether Curry was really the right man to sign to the 15th spot. It's hard to identify any current free agent that would be offering significantly more impact to the Golden State rotation right now, but the franchise does have a two-way contracted player who probably deserves to be on a standard deal.
Had the Warriors chosen to wait, they may have realized that Pat Spencer was the more appropriate player to sign. Even now after playing only seven minutes against the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday, Spencer is still closer to the rotation given he's really the only legitimate backup point guard beyond Stephen Curry.
Seth Curry isn't really serving a purpose right now, outside of being a potential option for Kerr to turn should he cycle through his array of other guards. Even then, the head coach seemingly remains steadfast on backing in the likes of Buddy Hield and Brandin Podziemski, with impressive rookie guard Will Richard also becoming a rotation casualty.
The upside to not signing Curry quite yet may have ended up being rather minimal, but it is worth remembering if the Warriors do need to sign additional players or end up needing to make room for Spencer once his 50-game threshold is over.